LYNN ADAMS
SEQUOYAH COUNTY TIMES
It’s been widely observed that April showers bring May flowers. (And if you’re a dad, that axiom is followed with the question: And what do Mayflowers bring? Answer: Pilgrims.)
But for those in southeastern Oklahoma and across Arkansas, they’re surely hoping any April showers, in particular, and clouds, in general, are nowhere to be found for Monday’s solar eclipse.
Although there are isolated instances of people thinking it’s Y2K all over again, with warnings that residents should stock up on food supplies and unsubstantiated fears of widespread power outages as well as other life-altering glitches, the real – and legitimate – concern for this once-in-a-lifetime event hinges on one factor beyond our control: the weather.
While April is historically one of the cloudiest months of the year – probably because of those generous showers – if clouds fill Oklahoma and Arkansas skies on Monday, that rare celestial event overhead will be obscured.
Viewing the total solar eclipse has been anticipated since the last big event in 2017, which traversed the nation from Oregon to South Carolina, but missed Oklahoma and Arkansas.
And if you miss it this time around, it’ll be 21 years until the next opportunity.
Monday’s solar trip from Mexico to the Canadian province of Newfoundland is the first time the path of an eclipse has crossed Oklahoma and Arkansas since June 8, 1918. The next time the moon obscures the sun in Oklahoma will be Aug. 12, 2045.
Climate records for April in eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas
that there’s a pretty good chance clouds may play a role in our viewing experience. Observations are that April skies are overcast or mostly cloudy about 40% of the time, and the first two weeks of the month historically experience clouds at a rate of almost 60%.
— Monday’s Weather
And if local weather forecasters are correct, it looks as if history is going to put a damper on what was supposed to be Monday’s spectacular solar show. The forecast for southeastern Oklahoma and across much of Arkansas is for partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies.
If the weather does cooperate, however, you’ll need special eclipse glasses for direct viewing. It’s possible to view the few minutes of totality without the glasses because the sun is blocked by the moon, but when any of the sun is visible, wear the glasses to avoid damaging your eyes.
In Sequoyah County, however, plan on an eclipse that is about 99%. While the eclipse event lasts almost three hours beginning about 12:30 p.m., peak time in Sequoyah County will be about a minute from 1:49-1:50 p.m.
Less than a minute later, Fort Smith and Van Buren will also observe an eclipse that is not total, but is awfully close.
“I don’t want to get folks too worried, but they need to know that the days leading up to the eclipse, the day of and the day after could cause a few issues,” cautions Jonathan Teague, director of Sequoyah County Emergency Management.
“The biggest issue will be the inundation of people into the region for viewing. I-40 and Highway 59 south from Sallisaw could see heavy traffic as folks try to get to the path of totality. There are a lot of other variables that are impossible to predict. One of those is exactly how many folks could be traveling through the county to get further south on those days. I have seen estimates as low as 17,000, and as high as 250,000. All those predicted people will not come through Sequoyah County, but it will impact us some.
“A second large unknown variable is the weather. An important focus to let folks know about is that we are not in the path of totality,” Teague observes. “The folks down in the southern counties will be hit harder. OHP will be sending down an extra 100 troopers to help cover the potential traffic issues. The OHP release is more for them, but us being right on the edge of totality, I feel like the citizens deserve all the information. A lot of folks don’t know about the potential issues that could arise. I have told some to treat the eclipse like a round of winter weather. It probably won’t get bad, but you still want to be prepared.”
— Southern Exposure
Those who wait until the last minute to travel to the path of totality can create a problem of their own – to others as well as to themselves if they are driving when totality approaches.
“As spectacular as this once-in-alifetime event will be, if you happen to catch a glimpse of it while behind the wheel, do not turn your eyes away from the road,” says Rylie Fletcher of AAA Oklahoma. “Aside from damaging your eyes, looking at the eclipse while driving is distracted driving at its worst. While AAA recommends staying off the road during the eclipse, if you have to drive, keep sun visors and cell phones down to protect your eyes, reduce temptation to look at the sun and avoid distracted driving.”
The farther southeast, the longer the eclipse experience. In LeFlore County, Poteau is expected to receive a little more than a minute of totality, with the peak time coming at 1:49 p.m.
But for those in McCurtain County as well as across the state line in Arkansas, it’s prime eclipse viewing, with most areas experiencing totality of more than four minutes.
Peak eclipse time for Idabel, Haworth, Broken Bow, Hochatown and Eagletown is about 1:45 p.m. In Eagletown, the closest Oklahoma community to the center of the solar eclipse path, it will receive the maximum duration of almost four and a half minutes.
The same holds true on the Arkansas side of the Talimena Drive, with the cosmic event peaking about 1:47 p.m. for DeQueen and Mena, both experiencing more than four minutes of totality.
The eclipse will then trek southwest to northeast, traveling northwest of Hot Springs and Little Rock before entering Missouri on its way to the Great Lakes and on to New England.
The path of maximum totality reaches North America a little before 10 a.m. local time just southeast of Mazatlan, Mexico, and enters the U.S. just after noon at Radar Base, Texas, where there’ll be four and a half minutes of darkness. The sun, with the moon in tow, then proceeds northwest of San Antonio, Austin and Waco; southeast of Dallas; then across Sulphur Springs, Texas and Clarksville, Texas, before casting its shadow over Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Once the interstellar show crosses southeastern Missouri, it passes northwest of Cape Girardeau, Mo., directly over Carbondale, Ill., and Vincennes, Ind., then just south of Indianapolis, northwest of Columbus, Ohio, near Cleveland, Ohio, over Buffalo, N.Y., northwest of Burlington, Vt., and north of Bangor, Maine.
The eclipse path exits the U.S. just after 4:30 p.m. EDT between Littleton and Monticello, Maine.
The path of the eclipse can be tracked at www.timeanddate.com/ eclipse/map/2024-april-8.
Arkansas is expecting millions of visitors to flood the state in anticipation of optimum viewing. In preparation of a busy day, many school districts across the Natural State have issued special day-long closures for the special event. Carl Albert State College (Sallisaw and Poteau campuses) will observe virtual learning Monday, along with LeFlore County schools.
— Online Resources
Can’t get enough about this rare celestial occurrence? There’s an abundance of information all over the internet. Here are some particularly informative websites: Safety tips – https://science.nasa.gov/ eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/ safety NASA information – https://science. nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/ eclipse-2024 Best viewing – https://www.newsweek. com/total-solar-eclipse-2024best-states-nasa-1873487
